George Lawrence used aerial kites to photograph San Francisco after the devastating 1906 earthquake. His photographs appeared in newspapers around the world and generated more than $15,000 for the photographer.
Below is a high resolution GigaPixel scan from the original 4 foot wide photograph. Well, technically it’s only a measly 11,709 x 4,716 resolution – translating to only .55 gigapixels, but we’ll let it slide since this is for posterity’s sake and all that.
For those of you who are unaware, San Francisco experienced a devastating earthquake in 1906 which started fires that burned uncontrollably and essentially destroyed the entire city.
To use the panorama, click inside the photo below, then you can use your mouse wheel to zoom in and out, and click and drag within the photo to move it around. If your mouse doesn’t have a scroll wheel, just use the zoom bar in the top left corner of the picture to zoom in and out.
- If you would like, you can download a 158MB uncompressed scan of the original photo here.
- I’ve also taken that original and done a little editing on it and converted it to a 13MB download which you can get here.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Thats a scary thought. I actually was in San Fran for the first time last week and checked out P39/Chinatown. Drove up HWY 1. It was amazing.
Thats a gorgeous picture
The aftetrmath was unbelievable, more unbelievable the politicians later built large parts of the current San Francisco on reclaimed land which is geologically unsound. The danger will be compounded if another quake hits with enough force.
This pic is amazing.Its in good resolution after the scan.I wont like to take a picture like this though.
That is amazing, certainly worth the 156 mb of bandwidth. Thanks John.
$15,000 in 1906 dollars, adjusted into 2006 real dollars would be between $346,788.99 and $6,376,993.31, depending upon which index you’d use.
That’d be a nice chunk of change for a couple of kites and a photograph.
amazing picture John
Ow my god. What an amazing image!…
Thanks a lot John
That is an amazing picture. I like photography and will download the full image.
the photo is worth a giant poster on my living room :-), scary though :-)
Excellent shot of Lawrence — I have two others of his in my book on the ’06 quake, taken three years apart. I’m using 75 panorama photos in a forthcoming book on So Cal history — all taken in the 1920s with a Cirkut camera by Edward Cochems. Great stuff. Best Regards, Douglas Westfall
Hi Douglas,
I noticed your post saying you are using some photography work from the 1920′s by Edward Cochems. My great-great grandmother Anna Cochems and Edward were brother and sister. Making Edward Cochems my great-great uncle. I would love to know more about the work you are doing for your book. Please e-mail me back when you have a chance. I have seen some of his work and I’m very interested in any other info on Edward Cochems.
Sincerely,
Meghan Reardon
meg1879@comcast.net
Awesome photo! Just beautiful.
I’m afraid that 11,709 x 4,716 is only 0.055 gigapixels. Sorry!
Fascinating photo, though. Those are the burnt remains of the dome of City Hall to the right of Market St. in the center.
OK we all see that the pic is awsome and quite futuristic for those days … I presume. But … what I would like to know more about is the background of the shot, how was it taken, with what camera, … not to mention the flying baloon left in the back … what is that all about?!? Did anyone notice? Looks like they have a pirate flag on it … no, really, what is that???
Amazing pic!!! Have fun, Goran
Ooops, this is strange … I have the same photo at home and there is a difference … it really has a flying “thing” on it. This one doesen`t … ?!? I thought it was here to but no, … wait let me have another look at the situation …
Well the photos are one and the same photo … with a twist on the one I have … I do not get it. Maybe it was tempered. Does anyone know anything about two versions of the one photo above?
“used aerial kites to photograph” … how did they look like? Like a baloon with sails on top of it? … cause that is what I see in the photo I have … unbelivable. If anybody want`s it mailed to him or her let me know.
You could certainly see your skills within the paintings you write. The arena hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to mention how they believe. All the time follow your heart.